“Dear Dream Momma, I had this upsetting dream last night. I dreamed I was standing on the deck of the cruise ship. The wind was blowing…. there was a slight chop in the water. Then I turned around to the left and saw tons of surfers out in the ocean. But the weird thing was that they were surfing INTO the waves. From the shore to the sea… and as the waves crested, the surfers where flung in the air back towards shore… I stood and watched helplessly. I wanted to shout at them to stop doing that. To turn around and surf in the right direction…. I tried to yell but the wind drowned out my words….
Moral of the story or what I think this dream means… is that no one listens to me, and I wish I was on vacation on a cruise ship to go surf. What do you think?”
Right now Dream Momma is thinking of is Sisyphus. He was a king, currently a mythic, symbolic character, who was punished for his pride by having to eternally push a boulder up hill only to watch helplessly as it tumbled back down. In today’s modern work world (which you clearly allude to in your dream and comments) she is also thinking of the Sisyphusian condition; research conclusions by Dr. Dan Ariely that revealed people work harder when their work is more meaningful.
So Dear Dreamer, what has this got to do with you? Shall we speculate? Whatever it is, it clearly has to do with work. You are on a cruise ship (a symbol of luxury); the slight chop in the water could mean the small challenges of your job. In your dream you notice the wind. It is powerful … powerful enough to drown out your words. Hmmm? Who is the windbag in your workplace? The person that controls you? My guess is that you are mid-management trapped between worker bees (the surfers) that waste time and effort at work (bet they surf the net a lot.) and an overpowering boss.
Under those conditions Dream Momma would want to escape too. But wait! You can escape. You can escape your over-developed sense of responsibility and need to control (“turn around and surf in the right direction.”). Believe me, Dear Dreamer, once you overcome that challenge your whole life will feel like a luxury cruise. Good news; the dream is telling you it’s time for that internal shift and the fact that you wrote me tells me you’re ready. Go for it.
Dream Momma
Want to learn from your dream? E-mail Dream Momma at dreammomma@gmail.com
This article appears in Jan 20-26, 2011.